“Cursed woman,” he hissed, mouth smeared with red, eyes glittering, hair hanging down over his face. Hands flat to the earth on either side of her head, his broad bare chest heaving, streaked with rivulets of sweat, every muscle stark and corded and beautiful in the firelight. “My woman.”

Anyone who knows of my reading tastes can attest to the fact that I am a huge fan of dark romance, the darker, the better. Having come across the Orc Sworn series by Finley Fenn on Instagram was a godsend in this regard, and my first foray into this fantasy monster romance series was wonderful in every sense.

The Lady and the Orc is the first book in the series, with eight book published to-date. Told in the third person from the perspective of the heroine, the angst factor was greater because of the fact. The debut book in the series brings to readers the story of Grimarr leader of five clans of orcs that lives under his command, from The Ash-Kai clan who have long served as the orcs’ leaders and captains, and Lady Jule Norr, married to a man a decade older than her for the past five years.

Jule is a woman who is an “outcast” in the human world, having been determined to be barren, unable to bear children for her husband. Jule’s husband is a man who has given her little in the way of happiness, and totally disregards her welfare, well-being, and safety as is his responsibility. This ends up being a pivotal reason why Jule is ripe for the picking and is captured by none other than the Orcs who are rumored to be huge, hideous, dangerous, deadly, and constantly raiding human territory for goods and women.

Jule has heard of the terrible fate that women are subjected to, once they are taken by the Orcs. Jule does not forget the callous disregard with which her husband had treated her fears right before he had departed leaving her alone, without a means to defend herself, with the parting shot that even Orcs would want whole women, and that she was not even good enough material to be taken hostage by the Orcs.

When Jule realizes that she has been taken by none other than Grimarr, the leader of the Orcs, she is intrigued as much as she is frightened by the prospect that awaits her, and determined that she would not give in to the fear that is her first reaction to the hideous creature that stands before her. Grimarr is the Orc who has led his brothers for the better part of 30 years, and became the captain to steer the ship just recently. He is determined that he would do right by his brothers, even if it means destroying his own self in the process.

Surprisingly for Jule, it is only Grimarr who sees her husband for who he is – a man who is equal parts weak and a fool, who exerts his strength and uses it to demean the weak. Jule however is distrustful, and rightfully so when it comes to the Orc, but also drawn to Grimarr despite everything she has heard about the Orcs and the dangers they pose to humans, especially womenfolk. At the same time, as a captive, Jule is also forced to look more closely at the events that have unfolded between the Orcs and humans, and reassess her opinion on who the perpetrators and the victims are in the decades old conflict between the two.

Jule also understands that there is a reason behind her being taken as a captive by the leader of the Orcs; after all she is the wife of the leader of the human clan with whom the Orcs war with and it gives Grimarr a strategic advantage unlike any other. Against her own judgement, Jule also finds herself strangely drawn to Grimarr in a way that makes her wary, and yet is helpless to walk away from. The hold that Grimarr and his scent has on her, and the way Grimarr keeps talking about her as if she is his fated mate lures her in, until she is hooked well and good.

Ultimately, her need for him outweighs everything else, and it is not long before she pledges her allegiance to him and claims him as her mate leading to a series of events that is anything but kind to her burgeoning feelings for him. Even as Grimarr takes steps to amend his behavior and do right by Jule, he also has far more devious plans that outweigh his connection to her or his need for her, which proves to be the ultimate test that both Jule and Grimarr face in this heady tale as it moves forward.

I loved this highly unusual and sensual tale that Ms. Fenn has gifted to readers and the world building that offers a lot of tantalizing possibilities for future stories down the line. It is stories like these that makes me marvel at the infinite boundaries of the human imagination, about to conjure up stories like this one. The aspect I loved the most (as you must have guessed), is the world of hurt in store for both Jule and Grimarr before all is said and done, giving readers like myself the perfect combination of angst and romance which I adore.

For Jule, trust is a hard commodity to come by, given how she has fared in her marriage up till she had been taken by Grimarr to be used as he likes. For Grimarr, even if he acts as if Jule is replaceable in the strategic “war” that he has begun, his actions speak otherwise, or rather reading between the lines leaves you with that impression, which ramped up my enjoyment factor with this novel. Grimarr was the perfect balance of ruthlessness, gentleness, hedonistic, and dangerous – the kind of hero that I love best. He delivered on all aspects spectacularly and I could not have asked for a better hero.

Definitely recommend this for readers who love their romance on the spicier and darker side. Nothing to lose by taking the plunge with a story well written, and a happily ever after that is guaranteed!

Final Verdict: The Lady and the Orc was unexpected in the most captivating way; I was all for the darkness of the characters and the transformation both underwent in the journey to their happily ever after!

Favorite Quotes

“Where are we?” she asked toward Grimarr, without thinking — but then she went stock-still all over, because she was looking at him, and he was looking at her. And here, standing in the bright, unforgiving daylight, the infamous captain of the orcs was truly, thoroughly hideous.
His skin was a deathly shade of grey, latticed over with scars, one almost bisecting his long, crooked nose. His eyes were sunken and black, framed by stringy black hair that was tied back in a matted mockery of a braid, and his neck was thick and corded, angling down to sloped, bulbous shoulders.

Jule’s mouth barked out a hoarse, high-pitched laugh. “What, the gods decree that orcs have to kidnap women, and make them bear their sons? You can’t honestly believe that?”
“No,” he said, and one of those big hands slowly lifted toward her again, this time settling warm and heavy against her hip. “This — kidnap — you speak of, this was from the war. From men who deny us women. Who deny us our sons, and our freedom.”
Oh, so now it was all the men’s fault, but Jule’s retort was silenced by the feel of Grimarr’s other hand, coming to spread flat and warm against her belly. “But it is the gods’ decree that orcs mate with women,” he murmured. “If it were not so, there would be no sons. No pleasure in the mating.”

The blinding light of the sun was almost painful, after all that time spent underground, and Jule blinked at its brightness through her fingers. Halfway up the curve of the sky, it was mid-morning, and had Grimarr kept his whole band waiting here all this time, just for her?
“Do you hunger,” came Grimarr’s curt voice beside her, drawing Jule’s unwilling gaze — and then she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard. Gods, he was hideous. Absolutely repulsive, in the light, like a grey rotting corpse whose face had been carved into by maggots, and had she truly kissed that mouth? Had she welcomed the touch of those hands? Had she sworn to make him her mate? What the hell?

Jule’s eyelids fluttered, her mouth suddenly sucking on that invading finger, and Grimarr gave another one of those low, rolling laughs. “This pleases you,” he murmured, as he tugged the finger free, and went back down, pooling more of that thick sweetness onto it, and then bringing it back to Jule’s mouth. “How do I taste, woman.”
Jule should have lied, but her swirling tongue would have betrayed it, and her gaze was trapped in those watching, half-lidded eyes. “Sweet,” she managed, around his finger. “Like honey.”

“You really think I’m judging you harshly? Do you not recall, down while I was making supper for you and your hundred friends, how you publicly threatened to burn my clothes and force me while they laughed?”
Grimarr’s eyes blinked again, and Jule leapt to her feet, not caring if she was still naked and filthy, just needing to get away, as far from him as possible. “You are the one who brings shame to me, orc,” she gasped. “And to all your fellow orcs as well. You have shown me that in comparison to you, my husband Lord Norr, who I believed to be one of the cruelest men I have ever known, was in fact a patient and generous soul. And if ever presented with the choice” — she gulped in a breath, glared at those eyes — “I will immediately reject you, and run back to Norr Manor, and thank the gods for my blessed good fortune!”

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